pricing cooperate headshots

[talula_prendergast]

I've been asked to take about 170 head shots for a large cooperate company. I have no Idea how to price something

on such a large scale as I usually photograph families and events.

[felix_mizioznikov]

depending on if you were to have each person sign a model release or not. If you could add all shots to your portfolio for say selling as stock you might cut a break to the client, otherwise, to shoot heads of 170 ppl.....maybe around$800, considering about 6 hours of work.

[brucecahn]

The minimum charge should be around $125 per person. The max about $300 each. Charge as much as you think you can get.

[park_street]

Listen to Bruce. Those rates are what I see in my market and can also get.

 

$800 for 170 headshots is less than $5 per headshot. It is two minutes a shot for six hours with no additional charges for a

web galleries for choices or any retouching. That is the craziest thing I have heard this year.

[gordon_lukesh1]

I had a chance for a corporate headshot once but my colleagues held me back.

[craig_shearman1]

I'm a photographer on the side but my dayjob is in PR in Washington, D.C. I hire a photographer to do our executive headshots every couple of years and the ballpark is probably $1,500 for a full-day shoot. We usually split it into two days, however, because you can't ever get everybody on the same day. In four hours you can do about 15 people, maybe 20 if you rush it. That's scheduling them at 10-15 minute intervals and allowing for the fact that some are going to shot up late. This isn't high school senior head shots where everybody's going to get in line according to height and sit there and wait for you to run them in front of the camera. You need to fiddle with camera and light a bit for each one. (Hairlight, for example, is going to be different on the bald guy vs. the blond guy vs. the brown haired guy. Some are going to be fat, some slim, etc.) Even if you did a full day and really cracked the whip, going though 50 people in eight hours would be quite an accomplishment. So for 170 people you're looking at a three or four day shoot. Maybe this is a place where the orders could go down that everybody has to show up and line up and really move them through. But even if it is, the quality you would get would not be the same as taking your time. As far as giving them a break for stock usage, don't even think about it. What they are hiring you to do is shoot PR handout pictures that they will be giving away for free to any news organzatiion that wants them, or to put in brochures and flyers promoting events, to use on their web sites, etc. They are going to want the rights for that, so since they are going to be giving them away there's no market for you to try to sell them otherwise.

[talula_prendergast]

Craig, Thanks so much! You brought up many good points and I appreciate your help.